Joan Marie “Shaun” Shaughnessy, longtime professor of law at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, passed away on November 24. She was 71 years old.
In 1983, after several years as a practicing lawyer, Professor Shaughnessy transitioned her career to academia as a faculty member in the School of Law at Washington and Lee University. Over the next four decades, she taught courses on civil procedure, federal courts, complex litigation, evidence, jurisprudence, and legal writing. She had stints as the Roger D. Groot Chair and as the School of Law’s associate dean for academic affairs, as well as positions on several university-wide committees throughout her tenure. Her service to the university earned her numerous awards, including an appointment as the John W. Elrod Law Alumni Association Fellow in Teaching Excellence during the 2003-2004 academic year. She retired from Washington and Lee University in 2023.
As a scholar, Professor Shaughnessy published extensively on the topics of personal jurisprudence, parental rights, and legal issues arising from poverty and child neglect. Her expertise led to appointments as chair of the Association of American Law Schools Section on Children and the Law and as secretary of the Virginia Bar Section on the Education of Lawyers.
A native of South Bend, Indiana, Professor Shaughnessy earned her bachelor’s degree in anthropology from the State University of New York at Binghamton and her juris doctorate from the the University of Chicago.